Short Cut (n): Something that will take longer and cost more, but might gain some immediate goal. (Odds of gaining that immediate goal average around 7.3%.)

Example: “Yeah, we know we needed to test that, but it would take all week. We need to ship today, so we’re going to take this short cut instead: we’ll test after we ship.”

Commentary: Really, if the short cut were a good idea, why didn’t you plan to do it that way in the first place? As Professor Tolkien wrote, “Short cuts make long delays.” Or as I keep telling people: Short cuts take longer and cost more, every single time.